Apart from India, the following teams will be part of the draw for the year’s last FIFA event: Brazil, England, Honduras, Niger, Costa Rica, Chile, Ghana, France, New Zealand, North Korea, Guinea, Mali, Iran, Turkey, New Caledonia, Germany, Japan, USA, Paraguay, Mexico, Spain, Colombia, Iraq.

As the hosts, India will be automatically placed in Pot 1 as well as Group A. A red ball will represent India at the drawing table, while blue balls will represent the other teams so as to highlight the hosts’ special status. The other 23 teams will be sorted according to their performances in the last five Under-17 World Cups.

With the absence of five-time champions Nigeria, Mexico remain the most prolific team from the past five Under-17 World Cups, while Brazil and Germany are also among the foremost performers. Mali’s run to the final of the Under-17 World Cup in Chile in 2015 means they are the only African team to be placed in Pot 1.

The rest of the pots are populated gradually with teams placed into ascending pot numbers based on descending number of points obtained in the past World Cups.

The four pots will be as follows:

Pot 1India (Hosts)Mexico Brazil Germany Mali France

Pot 2Spain Japan New Zealand England Iran USA

Pot 3Costa RicaNorth Korea Honduras Iraq Colombia Turkey

Pot 4Chile Paraguay Ghana Guinea Niger New Caledonia

As per the rules of the draw, the 24 teams will be drawn into six groups of four teams each. No group shall have two teams from the same confederation, meaning India will avoid Japan, North Korea, Iran and Iraq in the group stage.

Furthermore, teams from the same pot will not be drawn together, hence India will also not have Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Mali and France as group stage opponents.

However, the Colts could face the likes of record European Under-17 champions Spain, England, Chile and Ghana in the World Cup’s early stages, therefore, qualification for the knockout stages will be a challenge for the hosts.

With Niger and New Caledonia, India are among the teams to have garnered zero points from the past five Under-17 World Cups. This year’s tournament will be the first time India have played in the Under-17 World Cup or any FIFA tournament for that matter.

The draw will see India as part of an official FIFA event draw for the first time in history. India, as the host, will be drawn in Group A as the team A1. They are in Pot 1 alongside the likes of Mexico, Brazil and Germany.